Last Day in Paris

Today we ended our trip to Paris with a day of meandering on Montmarte hill. This area is famous for a beautiful cathedral called Sacre Couer, a classic windmill near the home of Monet and Degas, a beautiful cemetary where Degas is buried, and the Moulin Rouge. We climbed all 300 stairs to the top of the cathedral and had a breathtaking view of the city. For lunch we had mussels on the shell and French Fries. We spent the afternoon shopping, but I find Paris too extravagent for my taste. It reminded me of all the high-end boutiques in Hong Kong with clothes for people of unrealistic sizes. My search for silver candlesticks was unsuccessful. I'll just have to find them at home to remind me of Paris. Our final dinner tonight was at a classic French restaurant and the food was magnificent. I had artichoke hearts on a bed of crispy romaine, flank steak and au gratin potatoes with the most amazing cheese and chocolate mousse with chocolate pop rocks on top! It was the first time I have had dinner served with a silver cover which our waiter pulled off with a flourish! I was tempted by the escargot because I remember how yummy the broth is. The night was warm, the Eiffel Tower was sparkling behind us, and somewhere an accordion was playing La Vie en Rose. It was a beautiful way to end an amazing experience. I feel so thankful for this opportunity, this adventure. I cannot wait for the chance to share it with Tony someday. I miss my kids and my home and my sweetheart and I am ready to go home.


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Normandy

Today we started early and climbed aboard a tour bus to head out of Paris. I was a little relieved to see that outside ofmParis there are normal suburbs and shopping malls. Our focus was the WWII history sights. Paris was occupied for 4 years by the Nazis when we joined the war. A whole lot of planning and preparation went into Dday including secret messages on the BBC, deceptions including fake paratroopers and tanks, and great loss of life. It is nearly impossible to imagine the noise, the fear and the devastation when standing on the beautiful beach. The attack was expected to last two weeks, but it lasted 100 days instead. Freeing the people was staggered; the allied forces just kept pressing on. I need to learn more about this war, as both my grandfathers participated. The cemetery where the American soldiers were buried is a beautiful, reverent place with crosses and stars of David made from pure white Italian marble. I was walking among the crosses and looked down to see the name of John Lundberg from Utah. It felt very personal to see my own name on a cross. It was a lovely day of touring on the comfortable double decker bus and I was glad for the break from walking after yesterday's marathon. This has been a once in a lifetime experience for which I am so grateful. However, I miss my husband and my kids and I'm ready to go home.


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Creme Brule and crepes in Paris

I began my morning today by exploring some Parisian parks on a lovely run. I picked up fresh baguette for breakfast which we ate with butter and honey and creamy French yogurt with strawberries.

Our tours today started at the beautiful San Chapel with the most amazing stained glass windows, depicting the lives of the Savior and the Apostles. I commented to my friends that it was impossible to understand the stories the windows told without the light of the sun to illuminate them. So it is with the scriptures. We have to read them by the spirit and in the context of the Son of God for them to make sense and have meaning. This chapel paid homage to St Genevieve who was entombed there. I liked the recognition of a righteous woman! Becky was really moved by the spirit of the chapel, similar to the way the LDS temple moves me and we both acknowledged the faith of the catholic people who built this structure.

Our next stop was the Pantheon. It is a humongous structure where the Focault pendulum hangs. It is also the burial place of important Frenchmen such as Voltaire and Victor Hugo. The sheer size is overwhelming.

After a quick stop by Shakespeare's bookstore and a bit of outdoor market shopping, we grabbed a delicious lunch of buckwheat crepes filled with ham, tomatoes, cheese and topped with an egg. I preferred the dessert crepes of apples and sales caramel sauce.

On our way home we stopped by the original Bon Marche where I continued my search for silver candlesticks. We also visited the big food market and stocked up on French Chocolate and tea to bring home.

After a refresher back at the apartment we headed for Champs de Elysse and the Arc du Triumph. The arc is amazing and our walk down the Champ helped me understand how Paris got the title of "city of lights." Tonight we had a late dinner at a classic French restaurant. I have tasted foi gras (not bad) creme Brule and real French toast.  Desserts are all amazing! We've had a lot of Metro rides today--that is the most exhausting part, but the city itself is really laid back. I am impressed that everyone I saw was dressed up, no sloppies here at all, including the teenagers!


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2nd best bike ride ever

If riding the city wall in Xian was the coolest bike ride I've ever had, riding through the gardens of Versailles had to be a very close second, even in pouring rain. The palaces of Versailles were decadent, majestic and sickening. We had the pleasure of a behind the scenes tour that gave a wonderful history of the palace occupants, revolution and subsequent restoration. The Hall of mirrors where the Nazis signed treatise with the French took my breath away, and the Opera room was the first oval performance venue in France. We saw both the main palace as well as the residences of Marie Antoinette. While she may not have actually said the words, "let them eat cake" her decadence spoke volumes. Apparently she even had the sheep dyed to match her outfits when she went for walks. I was glad for a chance to ride the train out of Paris to experience the French countryside. If I were to live in France, I would live rural and visit the big city on the weekends. I am amazed at how many children there are in the city.
It was just Becky and I on our own today and we had a couple of mishaps on the train and subway ie I almost lost my leg in a door, a lovely French woman had to cue us to exit the train and the wind caught a door, slammed it and made us look really silly at the palace of Versailles. Other than that we did pretty good. We noticed today that Americans are loud, exuberant and the most happy people around. We did experience the French snub when we tried to ask for help, but didn't take it personally.
When we got home we picked up more lovely bread and chicken and pastries and set up dinner. While we waited for Ann and Stephanie to get home, I went for a run along the Seine and visited the muse du quai Branly. It was art from all around Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Americas. One special exhibit was a kind of history of hair. My other favorite thing was a river of words "running" down the spiral walkway. It looked just like running water from far away, but up close were words from all kinds of languages.
I have had my first taste of macarones and there is no going back--they were so yummy. Today was a day of extreme gratitude and learning.

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Paris--day 2

Today was a quintessential Paris day. We spent the bulk of the day at the Louvre and got thorough sensory overload. Our three favorite pieces of art were: Jesus teaching in the Temple (Kelly) the Front Entry pyramid (Ann) Les ombré s de Francesca de Rimini et de Paulo (Becky). The textiles were amazing and we were impressed with Napolean's apartment. It is another one of those human feats that invokes sadness when we think about the imbalance of wealth in the world. I was glad we skipped the Egyptian art and went straight to the Italian Masters. The scale of the works and the colors are what cannot be comprehended in books. The palace itself is ginormous. We lunched at a lovely restaurant overlooking the gardens of the louvre--I had quiche! After lunch we walked to Notre Dame and walked around the flying buttresses and stone gargoyles. There is nothing reverent or peaceful about the cathedral. It seems oppressive and dark. On the way home we picked up cheese, crusty French bread, strawberries and dark chocolate. We had a quick super and then dressed for the ballet. The Paris Opera House was more fabulous than I could have imagined. The ceiling is painted by Chagall and the chandelier is incredible. It was fun to imagine the Phantom peeking his head out from under the stage. We are all tucked in for the night for an early start tomorrow.


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Location:Rue Balzac,Paris,France

The Eiffel Tower, check!

We are in Paris! This city is not over rated. The Eiffel Tower is not over rated. The chocolate is not over rated. Compared to other big cities I have been in, Paris feels very laid back, much slower paced. There is no fast food or drinks on the go. We walked along the river Seine and explored some lovely neighborhoods today. We rode the elevator to the top of the Eiffel tower and I was surprised to see a little apartment at the top. We did the Parisian thing and sat in an outdoor cafe and sipped delicious hot chocolate while we people watched. Then we went for Thai food, which is not very French, but total comfort food. My traveling companions are lovely and our hostess Stephanie is so kind and thoughtful.


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spring break